Latinos widely agree that the immigration system in the United States needs a large overhaul, according to a new survey by PEW Research. “A majority of Latino immigrants and those born in the U.S. share the view that the country’s immigration system needs fixing, and this sentiment extends across all ages and education levels,” according to researchers Jens Manuel Krogstad and Mark Hugo Lopez. While most Latinos agree changes are needed in immigration policy, priorities differ depending on political party and legal status. This survey of Latinos on immigration comes four months into the Biden presidency, which has promised to enact various changes that would help Latino immigrants. These include defunding the U.S. and Mexico border wall, ending family separation at the ...
Over 530 members of Salud America! endorsed our public comment to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in their Request for Information (RFI) on how to advance racial equity and diversity within the biomedical research workforce, as well as advancing research on health inequities. Other organizations like the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Council On Governmental Relations, and Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology also submitted comments. The RFI was open for comment from March 1 to April 23, 2021. At Salud America!, we believe that increasing diversity among research leaders and clinical trial participants will help achieve true health equity, especially for populations disproportionately impacted by health issues and COVID-19, like the ...
As the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines continue to be distributed across the country, we’re getting closer to herd immunity and ending the pandemic. One obstacle on this path is vaccine skepticism. Vaccine skepticism is caused by a variety of sources, such as historical trauma from healthcare mistreatment and misinformation about vaccines that is circulated on social media. Misinformation about vaccines is especially dangerous as it will often target Latino and Black communities, which have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and are communities that most need the vaccine. Let’s go over the most common questions about COVID-19 vaccines, who is causing the spread of misinformation, and how to address it and build trust in ...
Patricia Chalela has always loved working in public health and being a valuable member of a team. Chalela is an associate professor at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at UT Health San Antonio. Here she is an integral part of a team that studies how texting helps people quit smoking, trains students in research methods, and is learning the ins and outs of Latino cancer. Whatever the task, she is happy to help find ways to promote health in the Latino community, which suffers high rates of several diseases and cancer types. “I love what I do and I love to work with this team to make a difference for Latinos. It has been an amazing ride, really very rewarding,” Chalela said.
A Colombian Immigrant Who Came to Texas
Chalela was born in Colombia to a Lebanese ...
How can art help a community? Art and cultural practices can help boost social cohesion and overall community wellbeing, according to a new report, WE-Making: How Arts & Culture Unite People to Work Toward Community Well-Being, which explores this concept. “A cohesive culture for health equity is one where everyone works individually and as a group to ensure that each person has a fair, just opportunity for health and wealth, as well as equitable access to basic resources required for these goals according to a Salud America! research review. The WE-Making report was developed by the National Endowment for Arts and the Kresge Foundation, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Bush Foundation, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
The Report on Arts ...
COVID-19 has devastated the Latino community since the start of the pandemic. As researchers gain more insight into the impact of COVID-19 over time, they’re finding Latinos continue to experience harsh impacts. In fact, a recent study from the CDC shows that Latinos and other communities of color experienced higher rates of COVID-19 hospitalization than their white peers. This is not just a symptom of COVID-19, but an issue of systemic injustice that needs dedicated action, according to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. "[There is a] critical need and an important opportunity to address health equity as a core element in all of our public health efforts,” Walensky said Monday during a White House Covid-19 briefing. “These disparities were not caused by the pandemic, ...
We know that health is influenced by our families, environments, communities, and much more. Health inequities occur when barriers prevent some groups from receiving access to healthcare and other resources that positively impact health. Community power is an emerging method for marginalized communities to enact systemic changes that address social and health inequities.
What is Community Power?
Community power is people’s ability to create systemic change through a mutual agenda to achieve a larger goal. “Building power is particularly critical for communities working hard to thrive despite generations of systemic challenges, including low-income and communities of color being excluded from decision-making on the policies and practices that impact their health and ...
Financial literacy can help us understand wealth and the economic opportunities available to us. Latinos face many barriers to economic opportunity, like systemic and historic discrimination, generations of inequity and wealth gaps, and a lack of access to resources on financial literacy. One business is stepping up to help teach younger Latinos about financial literacy. SUMA Wealth, a financial services company focused on Latinos, announced a multi-platform financial education initiative called SUMA Academy to empower Latino youth to break generations of wealth inequity. “Empowering young Latinos with financial knowledge is the key to reducing the wealth gap,” said Beatríz Acevedo, CEO and co-founder of SUMA Wealth, according to a press release. “They share their learning with ...
With over 30 years of working in mental health and disparities research, Margarita Alegría is what you might call an expert in the field. Alegría is the Chief of the Disparities Research Unit at the Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor in Harvard Medical School’s departments of medicine and psychiatry. Last summer, she was named Harry G. Lehnert, Jr. and Lucille F. Cyr Lehnert Endowed MGH Research Institute Chair. Alegría has decades worth of experience in studying public health, mental health, substance abuse, and the social determinants of health. She’s conducted countless studies on how to improve the lives of ethnic and racial minority groups and people with disabilities. Now she wants to make her research more accessible to the general public. Alegría ...
